Russia signed a strategic partnership treaty with Iran on Friday that follows similar pacts with China and North Korea. All three countries are adversaries of the United States, and Russia has used its ties with them to help blunt the impact of Western sanctions and boost its war effort in Ukraine.

The loose arrangement of hostile powers could pose a series of conundrums for President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for secretary of state.

China, North Korea and Iran are part of an "axis of autocrats," the outgoing US ambassador to Japan said on Friday in a parting shot at Beijing.

By bno - Taipei Bureau Japan has formally launched an independent diplomatic mission to NATO, reflecting its growing collaboration with the alliance as tensions rise with Russia, China, and North Korea.